Abingdonian 2018

57 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term Berlin Trip Last June, the fourth year kicked off their supposed post-exam break with the annual History Trip to Berlin. The tour was specially designed to cover key locations relevant to the iGCSE History course, which covers both the rise of Nazi Germany and superpower relations. After a predictably early start and a brief flight from Heathrow, we descended on central Berlin, where we first took in the Reichstag, the German Parliament, in all its glory and subsequently viewed the large memorials nearby, most notably the unpretentious Holocaust monument composed of hundreds of grey stone blocks rising out of the pavement. Naturally, the famous Brandenburg Gate was on the itinerary, where boys jostled one another and other tourists in pursuit of the most social-media- worthy photo. After lunch, during which language skills were tested, we visited the Topography of Terror and adjoining remnants of the Berlin Wall, which housed the headquarters of the Gestapo, complete with grim open cells in which subjects would be ‘interrogated’ in the basement. The second day began with the full realisation that we were to visit a concentration camp, an unknown quantity for most of the boys. Leaving the horrors of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, in which appalling conditions, overwork and contempt of human life were all too apparent, the subdued atmosphere of usually vocal teenage boys was almost tangible. Next was a visit to the Wannsee Conference House in Potsdam, just outside the city. Here, within what would otherwise be a perfectly pleasant country home, the infamous ‘Final Solution’ of the ‘Jewish Question’ had been devised. Much time was spent understanding the impact of the Holocaust for both individuals and ethnic groups, as shown in the exhibitions on site. We had been due to spend the rest of the day inside the Berlin Olympic Stadium, built for the 1936 Games; unfortunately, however, a show by the less GCSE-relevant Rolling Stones took priority over our visit. Our final day involved visiting the main site of the Berlin Wall, preserved in the original layout, followed by a trip to the DDR museum; its documentation of life in East Germany proved interesting in many different respects. We finished our time in the city by travelling to the former East German Ministry of State Security (Stasi) prison, which had been kept in remarkable original condition. Shown around by a former detainee, who had attempted to cross over the Wall, we investigated the rows of cells and ‘interrogation’ rooms. Following a delayed flight and a 1am landing at Stansted, we arrived back from our whistle stop tour with a much greater insight into the history we were studying. We are very grateful to our guides around Berlin, and to the teaching staff who accompanied us. Our particular thanks go to Mr Hallinan, for organising such an enjoyable trip. Lachlan Jones, 4MEE